Synopses & Reviews
In the 1990s, a new niche market emerged in the United States: gay and lesbian consumers were targeted by both mainstream and gay and lesbian producers.
Selling Out asks: What is the relationship between this niche market and the social movement that works for gay and lesbian rights? Locating the niche market and social movement in the context of the rise of consumer culture and pictorial advertising and the rise of identity-based social movements over the course of the 20th century, Alexandra Chasin examines specific sites of intersection between them: the gay and lesbian press, advertising, boycotting, and the mechanisms of funding the movement.
Review
“This book is an overdue argument for why a booming gay market is not necessarily a sign of progress.”
Out Magazine“A passionate analysis of gay politics...” Publishers Weekly
“Chasin's book is a thoroughly researched, cogently argued contribution to the ongoing discourse in the lesbian and gay community.” Choice
Synopsis
Gay and lesbian culture has gone mainstream, from Ellen DeGeneres' coming-out episode on TV to the push for same-sex marriage. And the gay market has become one of the most sought after by advertisers. But mainstream success comes at a price: gay political power has been white-washed. Identity politics and identity-based consumption tend to serve the interests of white, middle-class men at the expense of women, people of color, and the poor. Alexandra Chasin's lively and provocative indictment of the marketing of a sanitized queerness is certain to set off a wave of controversy among all readers, gay and straight.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. [313]-335) and index.
About the Author
Alexandra Chasin teaches at the University of Geneva and is co-chair of the Board of Directors of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission.
Table of Contents
Caveat Emptor * The Gay and Lesbian Press and the Business of Liberation * Advertising and the Promise of Consumption * Boycotts Will be Boycotts * Strings Attached: How Money Moves the Movement * Stealing the Show: Away from Identity and Toward Economic Justice Caveat Emptor * The Gay and Lesbian Press and the Business of Liberation * Advertising and the Promise of Consumption * Boycotts Will be Boycotts * Strings Attached: How Money Moves the Movement * Stealing the Show: Away from Identity and Toward Economic Justice